An Ember In A New World (Adventure Time Fanfiction)
by SophisticatedTaco
Summary: Accompany Valentino Romano as he traverses the wastelands left behind by the great mushroom war, otherwise known as World War 3. He had been mutated by radiation and was given the opportunity to live another life, attempting to redeem himself of his past sins. Along the way he meets those who would help him on this quest to redemption. One of darkness, one of ice, and one of...gum.
1. Death (Chapter 1)

Yo, What's up? This is going to be my second attempt at writing a fanfic, yaaay! Anyways this book is basically a short story as it's supposed to be prologue for another adventure time fanfiction I plan on writing. So, please enjoy.

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"Val, please sit down," a woman spoke softly to a figure shrouded in darkness.

Despite the lack of light in the room, her eyes stared directly towards him in a pleading manner. Begging him to comply. The woman looked aged far beyond her years, she looked as if the simple act of existing tired her. Next to her was a man who placed a comforting hand on the mother's shoulder, attempting to reassure her that this was the right thing to do. It was late at night, the mother decided it was best to have this conversation with her young daughters not here to listen and instead fast asleep. Because of this, the room was pitch black with only a small lamp to illuminate the room. Once the figure took a seat, the cloak of darkness that once shrouded him melted away revealing a rather sharply dressed young man.

He wore a solid black suit with a dark red dress shirt underneath and a black tie. His black dress shoes tapping against the wooden floor as he scooted closer to them. The man behind the mother scoffed at Val's expensive attire, his family was clawing for what little money they could gather and here he was wearing clothing worth more than an entire month's worth of working at their mother's job. Valentino had claimed it was to keep an image. A facade of strength.

"What is it, ma? What's wrong?" The young man spoke with concern laced in his tone.

His mother almost looked as if speaking with him brought her nothing but pain. The mother did not respond, she only looked to the ground as tears began to stream from her eyes.

"Y-your brother and I have decided that it would be best if you...left..."

Time itself seemed to have come to a complete halt as Val stared at one of the few people on this he truly cared for on this earth. Left? The very definition of the word seemed lost to him as he looked at them, shock capturing his entire being.

"What..." He whispered in disbelief.

"You are no longer welcome in this house. Take your things and leave," Val's brother, Antonio, said in a rather harsh tone, though it was obvious the decision wasn't any easier for him then it was for his mother. He couldn't even look at his sibling in the eye as he kept wiping away tears before they could escape his eyes.

"Leave. You want me...to leave," Val spoke with his head tilted to the ground causing his hair to cast shadow over his eyes.  
"After everything I have done, everything I sacrificed! After all of it, this is the thanks I get!? I gave up my very freedom just so I could get the money to keep this family alive!"

Antonio did not back down, he knew that this decision was more than justified.

"We never asked you to hang around those thugs! We never asked you to join a gang and commit crimes for money! It was all your choice! You chose that kind of life, you chose to endanger your family, you chose to follow our father's footsteps! Look at the outside of our own home! That isn't graffiti, those are bullet holes! This country is on the brink of war and it doesn't need criminals running rampant causing more damage!"

Val's anger only grew to greater proportions, as he listened to his brother. claiming that he actually had a choice in the matter. The enraged man turned and roared as he grabbed the chair he once sat upon and slammed it against the wall, shattering the piece of furniture to pieces. Val's mother flinched as her son once again turn towards them, rage boiling in his eyes.

"If I hadn't done the things I did, all of you would be living in the streets, begging others to give you their spare change! With the money I provide, we have enough for a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs."

Antonio responded without a moment's hesitation, "I would rather beg for change on the streets for the rest of my days then to accept money from a pair of hands who I know have been stained with the blood of others."

"You selfish bastard! You would condemn our sisters to the streets because of your petty sense of pride!?"

"Stop it, both of you!" The mother cried in desperation, fearing that if the argument escalated any further then the two would come to blows. She turned to face one of her beloved sons. "Please believe me Val when I tell you that I love you with all my heart, but as long as you stay in this house your sisters will always be in danger. Please, if not for your own safety then for the safety of your sisters' future, run away from this town and escape those criminals," Val's mother spoke with pleading eyes, begging him to comply.

A thin needle of anguish tore it's way into Val's heart as he heard one of the few people in this world who actually gave a damn about his wellbeing practically beg him to get out of her house. This unbearable sadness soon turned to burning rage as Val stormed towards his room and began to pack what little he had.

After emptying any and all belongings he valued, Val stood at the center of his room where he faced a closet once hidden by a cabinet filled with various trinkets. He pondered if he should leave the hidden storage be, whenever he opened this closet, people screamed, guns were fired, and someone always ended up dead. Deciding he would need the gear inside if he really was going to go through with this, Val opened the closet to reveal various amounts of weapons hanging from the wall. Taking off his coat and dress shirt revealing his rather muscled physique, Val put on a bullet-proof vest over his tank-top. He grabbed two butterfly knives and strapped one to his shin while the other was strapped to his forearm. Putting on his previous clothing over the sheathed weapons and vest, Val grabbed the 9mm pistol hanging from the wall and pocketed the handgun in his coat. The next item Val grabbed made him sick to his stomach. It was a bandana carelessly tossed on the closet's floor. Once he unfolded the piece of cloth, flashes of horrid memories plagued his mind. Memories of an enemy, memories of a fight... memories of being caked in the man's blood as he watched the life drain from his eyes. Val stumbled across the room, holding his head in pain as the screams of dozens of people echoed in his head. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he mumbled soft apologies. These fits of insanity struck Val from time to time whenever reality became too much for him to handle so he escaped into the depths of his fractured mind. Recently, these fits had become much more frequent and being kicked from his home by his own family along with the sight of blood from a victim he had to stab to death triggered one of these mental episodes. Before he could delve any deeper into delirium, Val screams as he threw away the bandana. After finally recovering from that agonizing experience, Val grabbed the last firearm in his arsenal, an Ak-47, and stored it in a nearby duffle bag before quickly making his way out of his room.

With all of his belongings packed, Val made his way towards the doorway, opened the door, and stared at city he grew up in. To be honest, he was scared. Scared to venture into the unknown. Scared if his crime family may one day find him and fulfill their threats if he ever left. Scared of what the future had in store for him.

"V? Where are you going? Why is all your stuff packed up?"

Val froze mid-step as he was about to begin his trek towards his car. Recognizing the soft voice of her 14 year old sister, Val sighed before turning to greet his sisters. A small smile graced the man's lips as his eyes were met the sight of his oldest sister staring at him with eyes that gleamed with curiosity. Their younger sister held her hand, her eyes just barely open as she attempted to wipe away the sleepiness from her eyes.

"Hey, Al. What are you doing up so late?" Val asked, hoping he could change the subject and eventually get her back in bed. She didn't reply and instead stared at him, expecting an answer from her previous question.

"Um...do you remember how I promised you that I would stop doing bad things and one day go to college? Well after a bit of searching, I finally found a college that accepted me."

Alessandra's eyes widened before she asked, "Really!?"

When Val nodded in confirmation her mouth cracked into an enormous grin as she began to dance around the hall, cheering, "My bro's going to college!" Along the way, she lifted her younger sister and said, "Did you hear that Mia, V's going to college!"

Mia yawned a bit before giving a very tired, "Yaaaay..."

Val could only smile at the sight though inside it pained him to lie to his sisters about the matter but telling the truth about why he was leaving was out of the question. Although he didn't agree with her decision, he still loved his mother with all his heart and didn't want to do or say anything that may cause his sisters to resent his mother in any way. God knew she had been through enough.

"Wait," Val was suddenly broken away from his thoughts at the sound of Alessandra's voice.  
"You were going to leave without saying goodbye?"

Alessandra looked genuinely hurt and it only added to Val's current guilt.

"I wanted to, Al. I really did, but I need to be there in the morning. It's pretty far away so I decided to go late at night. Besides, the sooner I'm gone, the sooner you get rid of one more pain in your behind," Val spoke with a smile as he ruffled his younger sibling's hair.

She giggled a bit at the last comment but her expression softened as she whispered, "Your not a pain, V. Your my brother." Alessandra hugged her older brother as he crouched to return the embrace. She buried herself into his chest as she spoke, "I'll miss you, V."

Val slowly stood up and grabbed his luggage as he spoke, "I'll miss you too, Al. Take care of Mia and say bye to mom for me."

"There's no need."

Val turned to see his mother, her eyes red and puffy due to her crying. Noticing this, Alessandra and even her younger sister walked up to their mother and asked, "Mom, are you okay? Why are your eyes red?"

"I'm fine sweetheart," Their mother spoke with a voice so sincere that Alessandra and Mia couldn't help but believe her. Turning away from her precious daughters, Val's mother looked towards her son and said, "Good luck...with college. Try your best to find a good job, please stay out of trouble, and always remember that I love you with all of my heart."

A single tear escaped Val's eyes as he spoke, "I love you too, mom. I'll try to contact you when I can. Goodbye." Quickly grabbing a black scarf from the coat rack that stood next to him, Val left what was once his home without waiting for a response.

"Goodbye," Val's mother whispered as tears once again began to stream from her eyes.

After about a 30 minute drive, Val was already in the heart of the city. Knowing driving alone at night would be extremely dangerous as he might end up driving off the road due to exhaustion as hadn't had a proper night's rest for a few days, Val parked his car and began to make his way towards one of the nearby motels. Besides, its not as if he actually had a plan on where he was going or what he was going to do.

"Heh, maybe that promise I made to Al doesn't have to be a complete lie. Who knows? Maybe I actually will find a college that'll accept me. They'd have to be pretty damn desperate for new students though," Val said to himself as he thought of his sweet sister and how excited and actually proud she was when she heard his lies. Val desperately wanted to be the man Al wanted him to be but he had dug himself in a pretty deep hole and just didn't know if he could ever get out.

Suddenly the sound of an alarm blared through the city, the horrendous sound breaking Val away from his thoughts. Recognizing it as the city's emergency alarm, Val started to become anxious as he waited for whatever catastrophe was about to strike the city. He looked around to other people just as confused and scared as he was, longing briefly struck Val's heart as watched them clutch each other for comfort.  
"Unidentified aircrafts are approaching this area. All residents should take shelter immediately in case of an attack. Unidentified aircrafts are appro-," the city's warning was about to repeat but was suddenly cut off. What happened next would mean the end of thousands of lives.

The sound of propellers echoed above the town. The once bustling city had now grown completely silent as its residents waited in fear of what might happen next. Suddenly the sound of loud whistles screeched throughout the city for a brief second before there was a deafening explosion that caused the very ground to shake. Val looked at the sky in horror as he saw a miasma of fire and smoke fill the night's sky. They were being bombed.

Without a moment's hesitation, Val sprinted towards his car, shoved the keys into the ignition, and turned it with all of his might causing the engine to roar to life. He quickly slammed his foot onto the pedal and began making his way back home. The family's petty squabble would have to be put to the side for now, Val needed to assure his family made it out of the city safely. Val's tires tore through the pavement as he drove through the city with as much speed as his car could muster but even as he sped past the streets; he was still forced to watch the horrors of war unfolding before his eyes. Entire buildings collapsed under the bombs' might, fire consumed everything in its path, but something that truly fractured Val's heart was seeing a little girl wondering the streets. She was alone, bleeding, and crying for help. The moment Val's car was directly beside her as he drove, the two made eye contact and what Val saw shocked him to his core. Her ankle was twisted at an awkward ankle meaning she had broken it, however as Val passed her, he could have sworn he saw it snap itself back into place. The girl seemed as if she didn't notice in the slightest as she went from limping to walking normally in between a single step. She had eyes as red as the blood that ran through his veins, and skin as gray as the ashes left behind from the fire's wrath.

Staring at the girl for a second too long, Val failed to notice the familiar screeching of a bomb. It was bigger than any other that had been detonated in the city. The bomb slammed against the hood of Val's car, causing it to flip forward and roll against the road. The last thing Val remembered was being thrown out of the car's windshield and a sharp pain that ripped through his chest before everything went dark. Eventually, Val awoke at center of the street. He observed his surroundings to find the city completely empty of any type of life. Val felt weak and extremely cold. When he attempted to get up, something lodged into his chest shifted a little causing its sharp edges to scrape against his flesh and organs. Val immediately let out a bloodcurdling scream of utter agony. He gasped for air as he looked down to see a piece of metal had bent from the car and had tore through his entire chest. Val's lips curved upwards as he assessed his position. Despite his current situation, Val couldn't help but let out a bitter chuckle even as blood leaked from the edges of his lips. He remembered just how many times he'd been in a similar position, so many times he had almost died yet somehow he always pulled through, either through someone saving his ass or just dumb luck. For some reason, Val couldn't see himself walking away from this one. 'So that's it. I'm going to die here, alone. Without a single a person in this world who gives a damn whether I live or die. Heh, a fitting end for a piece of shit like me.' Val suddenly heard a small tune. He grunted in pain as he reached in his pocket to find his phone. He looked at the screen to find he had 25 unread messages and 13 missed calls. Val opened the messages to find they were all from his family. He began to tear up as he continued to read through the messages, they were genuinely worried about him. They wanted him to come back to them, they wanted to be together as complete family so they could endure this time of crisis together. Val couldn't help but grin as saw half the messages were his brother making sure he knew where they would be, texting him information as soon as he received it.

The military had quickly reacted and evacuated as many survivor as they could. They were moved to a nearby bunker which had been built to shelter citizens in case of nuclear warfare began. 'I guess I was wrong, I've got a family who cares about me.' Val thought as he couldn't help but shed a few tears of joy. Val read the last message, apparently a nuclear bomb had been launched somewhere in the city but had failed to detonate. The dying man looked up to find the culprit of his crash not far down the street, an enormous bomb which had crashed into the road and created a large crater in the asphalt. On its side was the yellow nuclear symbol. Val went to his contacts and attempted to call his mother however after a while of waiting he was turned to voice mail.

'Figures,' Val thought as he waited for the beep before he began talking. "Ma, it's me Val. I know the location of the nuke, it's in woodland avenue near the city park. Make sure to tell any soldiers nearby. Also...I want you to know that I love you. Though sometimes I didn't act like it, I'm grateful for everything you ever did for me. Tell Mia, Al, and Antonio that I told them to behave and to be better than I was. Tell them that I love them and couldn't have asked for better siblings. I wanted you know this since I crashed into the nuke and may not be alive when the army gets here. I want you to know that I'm sorry. Sorry for forcing you to watch me tear myself apart because I thought I had to. Deep down I knew there were other options, I could have stayed in school and landed a good job, maybe even found myself someone else to love and give you some grandchildren. Heh, I know you would've loved to see that, to see me build a family of my own. But I chose to follow my dad because i watched him sustain us because of the things he did. And I chose to follow him down that path, ignoring the fact that the choices he made were the reasons he isn't around today. Please stay safe and live a happy life. Goodbye." Val ended his message and put the phone away. He felt rather tired and now that he knew his family was safe maybe he could actually rest in peace. Val closed his eyes, his breaths slowly became more faint, and finally his heart slowly began to shut down. Before Val could succumb to the embrace of death however, he was ripped back into reality as he felt an intense burning sensation on his foot. While Val was giving his final words to his family, he failed to notice a green liquid leaking from the nuclear bomb. It had made its way down the street, and directly towards Val. The radiated liquid practically dissolved Val's foot causing him to scream in agony as every time an air trapping popped, it sent yet another shock of pain into Val's brain. Soon the liquid pooled around Val's entire body, and no matter how much he thrashed and shook, he couldn't will himself to get up and away from the acidic substance. Val heard the crackling of fire to his left and when he looked to see the source, he saw the hood of the car had caught fire and was spreading through the toxic liquid. The fire quickly made it way towards Val and enveloped his entire body. It turn his skin to ash and flesh to char. The fire continued its trek through the liquid and to its source, the nuke. The dying man's screams echoed throughout the city however they were soon silenced by the sound of a massive explosion. The nuclear bomb released a fire which incinerated anything within a 10 mile radius, however the damage did not end there. The force of the explosion alone was enough to completely topple buildings even further away. A massive mushroom cloud rose from the carnage, it's smoke towering over everything in the once prosperous city. The nuclear fallout eventually made its way back down to the land, infecting it with toxic radiation making the land uninhabitable for years to come. The enemy had struck first, marking the beginning of a conflict involving the entire world. World War 3 was about to begin.

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And finished. So what did you think about it? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Let me know. If you didn't like it, be sure to tell me what you didn't like and what I can do to make it better. Chapter 2 will be out soon, try to keep in mind that I am still in school and may find it difficult to work on this fanfic. I definitely want to make a consistent update schedule however. Maybe every week or maybe every two weeks. I'll have to figure it out as I go and I'll be sure to tell you once I've worked out a schedule that works for me. Until next time, Peace out.


	2. Rebirth (Chapter 2)

Yo, Whats up? Here's chapter 2 of my little fanfic. Please enjoy!

Val sat upon a throne of ash and stone, listening to his senate as they reported the state of each of their provinces. Sharing their crime rate, estimated food and water resources, and number of sighted and/or confronted outside hostiles, if any at all. From what he had heard so far, Val's kingdom was still in a state of peace and prosperity. Deeming his attention as unneeded, Val began reflecting upon his upbringing.

He remembered how he had somehow awoken from death itself to find himself in the heart of a long dead city, its residences long since gone and its once great structures decaying with age. Val eventually discovered he had the ability to control flames, great storms of fire and ash could be summoned with a simple flick of the wrist. At first, it scared Val. What had he become? A monster? A freak? Inhuman? Later, Val made peace with this gift when he began to use it to help those in need. He stumbled upon a group of scavengers who helped him come to terms with the changes done to his body. He used them to feed the near-starving group, to protect them from mutated monstrosities that resided in the wastelands, and in return they offered him a home to sleep in, friends to care for, and finally they explained what had happened while he 'slept'.

After that first nuke was detonated over Val's city, tension between the great nations skyrocketed and it wasn't long before countries began taking sides. A dangerous mindset soon began to develop which would mean the damnation of the world as they knew it. "Destroy them before they destroy you." Nuclear bombs were launched across the skies, great mushroom clouds erupted across the lands, and in just a decade the world was completely devoid of any form of civilization. Due to the radiation spread throughout the world, mutated beings began to emerge on this earth. Val being one of them. These mutations altered in its effects. Some were given wondrous abilities such as the ability to levitate, summon mountains, and bend the wind to your very will while others were horribly disfigured and became mindless savages. Val was lucky he was given these gifts and not robbed of his sanity in the process.

Val eventually moved on from the settlement when he was confident the group were self-sustaining and could defend themselves against trespassers. He found others like himself, people who could summon flames but feared their gifts. He befriended them, trained them, and worked with them to create a home worth fighting for. They found an active volcano and began working machinery to keep the core active. Val and his fellow mutants dreamed of restoring order, dreamed of creating a place where people could finally feel secure and protected. Only when such a place was created could earth's remaining life forms begin to move forward. Progress was impossible if one's biggest concern was if they would have enough food to eat tomorrow, that is to say if they lived long enough to see the sun rise once again.

As more and more began to join their cause, the once small group of mutants turned into a massive kingdom with over a million citizens. Being the leader of the group who founded their great kingdom, Val was crowned The Flame King. Val's great kingdom began to spread like a wildfire in both literal and symbolic terms. He didn't wish to rob others of their homes as only those who could control fire could survive the temperatures the people of the fire Kingdom experienced on a day-to-day basis. Val eventually developed a 'spell' in which any other living being could resist the perpetual flames that resided in his kingdom. Settlement after settlement, village after village, they even came upon kingdoms who were beginning to grow. They were all offered to join him and if they refused then they would be left alone however if they agreed then they were gifted homes, food, and protection from the outside horrors.

Now he rules a kingdom capable of rivaling the great nations of the old world. Although his word was final, he had attempted to give his citizens a say when it came to political issues as what little he learned from school had taught him, Kingdoms with Monarchs who had complete control over their people rarely ended well. Each province was allowed to elect a representative who would then become a member of the senate and together, along with the king, they would discuss issues and possible solutions on a monthly basis.

Suddenly shouts from outside the throne room tore Val from his thoughts.

"Our majesty is currently inside a meeting. Return when it has concluded," came the muffled voice of one of the royal guards.

"Please it is of...upmost importance, I need to speak with him at once!," another voice, raspy and heaving great gasps of air from time to time.

"Mam, leave now or you will be imprisoned."

"I don't have time for this! Get out of my way!"

A woman suddenly burst through the doors, her clothing torn and multiple cuts and bruises across her skin.

"Sire, please, you must-" the woman cried but before she could continue she was slammed to the ground by the guards, their blades placed against her throat and her arms forced on her back.

"My apologies, my lord. We will have her imprisoned at once," the guard spoke with his head bowed.

"No," Val spoke as he caught sight of the woman's equipment. She carried an M16 along with a standard short sword, basic equipment given to all flame kingdom guards assigned to protecting ally settlements. "Let her go. She's on of our troops and it seems she's been attacked."

The royal guards released the woman with some hesitance. Growing frustrated with their pace, the woman shoved them back with a baleful glare before her gaze turned soft as she stared towards her King.

"Sire, the settlement I was assigned to was just attacked. Raiders were able to defeat our defenses due to their leader's mutation. He summoned water and was able to extinguish our flames with ease."

A subsequent gasp came soon after the soldier's claim, an aura of uneasiness washing over the room's populace. Such mutants were a frightful topic for the kingdom of flames. One could be dealt with, but an army of them showing hostility towards the fire kingdom could result in a catastrophic amount of casualties if a war between the two forces broke out.

"Quiet," Val shouted in a calm tone, his booming and authoritative voice echoing though out the room being more than enough to silence the waves of murmurs traversing through the senators. The flame king sighed before asking in a solemn tone, "How many casualties?"

"None, Sire," The woman responded, shocking Val. It was certainly a surprise, but a welcomed one. "It seems the enemy's soldiers were ordered to not shoot to kill as the raiders went out of their way to inflict non-fatal injuries. They were only after our people's food and supplies, my lord."

One the royal guards spoke, "Shall I order my men to prepare a retaliation?"

The flame king didn't respond right away, he simple looked through one of the cracks on the surface of the volcano acting as a window. As far as the eye could, there were only fields of ember and seas of magma, the sky was constantly blocked by a large cloud made of ash and smoke. Completely depriving the kingdom of the sun's warmth and beauty, then again they had all the heat and light they could ever need.

"It seems like ages since the last time I've seen the outside world," Val thought before responding, "No, I will personally deal with this. I'll track them down to their base and send the coordinates to you. Once you receive them, begin making your way towards my location but expect to do no more than load our supplies and deliver them back to the settlement where it belongs." Val stood from his throne before calling for one of the servants, "Meredith!"

She was at his side in an instant, "Yes, My lord?"

"Tell Alexander and Noah to meet me at the city gates in an hour and tell them to bring equipment appropriate for battle. Also have this soldier's wounds tended to, she won't face any form of combat until she feels she has made a complete recovery. Take some time off with your family and friends, think of it as a reward for informing me as soon as possible despite your injuries."

"Yes, My lord," Meredith responded before bowing her head and guiding the soldier towards the nearby clinic. The woman turned and gave her king a grateful smile before following the maid.

One of the senators spoke, "With all due respect, your highness, is it wise to bring the heirs to the throne on such a mission."

"I appreciate your concern senator," Val spoke before turning his gaze towards the throne. "But I wouldn't have chosen them if I wasn't confident they could handle any and all duties of a king. As much as I wish it wasn't a reality, the flame kingdom's next king will have lead the charges to many battles, decide the fate of dozens of lives, and make difficult choices which could result in the kingdom's upbringing or its downfall. The sooner I introduce these responsibilities, the better the flame kingdom's next leader will be."

Val stood in an abandoned warehouse, observing a four-story, decrepit parking lot. The settlement pillaged of it's recourses was a recently recruited ally, meaning its defense's were rather bare as soldiers were just recently being deployed to protect it. Thus, this group of scavengers saw this as an easy target and were confident that they wouldn't be followed enough to not even attempt to cover their tracks.

The King sighed as he glanced at the blade he held in his hand, it's thin surface only having enough room to show him half of his reflection. Despite his mutation, Val's appearance hadn't changed drastically. His skin had turned slightly gray and his hair would give off small embers from time to time, but he still bore his handsome charm with a defined jaw line and muscled physique that made most women swoon. Indulging in the pleasures of the heart was the last thing on Val's mind however. For such a horrendous time, he was an ambitious man, always looking for ways to improve the lives of those that remained in the wasteland. From time to time, a problem would emerge that tested his dedication towards that goal. One such dilemma stood before him.

"Is there something wrong, Val?" A voice suddenly broke the flame lord from his dazed state.

Val turned to see a young man, looking to be no older than 20, looking towards him, his eyebrows curved upwards in a manner of worry. His skin was layered with obsidian, small cracks and crevices revealing magma underneath it's surface. His eyes were small orbs of magma and his hair was a constantly flickering flame. The proud soldier of the flame kingdom wore black-tinted steel armor with solid gold lining it's edges. He had an M16 strapped to his back, two blades holstered on each side of his hips, and a small buckler currently in hand. This was Alexander, one of the two possible heirs to the throne and Val's apprentice.

"I've been thinking about these people's actions. From the soldier's report, the raiders performed rather poorly in their assault. Having high amounts of casualties shortly after the beginning of the attack. They only managed to win due to their leader's mutation. Even with the deaths of their allies, they refused kill our own. These people are clearly not used to taking this kind of action, they must have been on the verge of starvation which drove them to pillaging others."

"That doesn't change the fact they need to be killed so a repeat of today's events never happens," another voice spoke from Val's right.

The King turned towards the voice, spotting another flame kingdom soldier. He was a being constructed purely of fire, his only way of keeping a consistent form was his armor. His armor itself was made up of magma stones bonded together by heat and then glossed over with an orange coating. He carried a towering war hammer along with a M24 inside a fairly large case. This was Noah, Alexander's brother and Val's second apprentice.

Val looked deep in thought for a moment before shaking his head, "No, we are going to incapacitate this settlement without killing anyone, its only fair to return their kindness. If they are struggling enough to resort to pillaging, they could join us for a reliable source of supplies and protection. Noah, Alexander, go on each side of the building and use your heat sense to identify the amount of people on each floor. The efforts of you both should be able to scale the entire building."

Both did as they were told, positioning themselves on opposite side of the building. Along the way, they avoided detection as members of the group were working in the area. The two sat on the ground and began emitting waves of heat, allowing them to map everything in and around the settlement. 'Heat sense' uses waves of heat to detect heat signatures and allows the user to detect objects by the shapes they made when they came in contact with the wave.

Once the two had clear picture of their half of the building, the two soldiers made their way back towards Val. The king himself had mastered heat sense to the point where he could scale the entire building and much more from his distance, however he decided he would test his apprentices on how to muster and execute a proper plan for a situation such as this. Once Noah and Alexander reached Val, they saw him sending off a messenger bird composed of nearby debris and fire. No doubt sending their coordinates towards the flame kingdom's generals.

Directing his gaze towards Noah, Val spoke, "Tell me what you know about the building and it's functions."

"The first and fourth floor are heavily guarded with armed guards scouting the perimeter on the ground and keeping a look out on fourth floor. The guards are all armed with glocks, rifles, and machine-guns," Noah spoke before reaching into his pack and pulling out one of many pieces of coal, fuel in case one of them were threatened to be extinguished by the water mutant. He began drawing two squares, each representing either the first or fourth floor. "They were stationed here, here and here," Noah said as he marked multiple spots on both squares. "The second floor is where their supplies, our stolen recourses included, are being kept. The third floor is being used as a makeshift living quarters. The members of this settlement were also at work around the lot within a 30 foot radius with a nearby plot of land being used to grow crops."

"Did you notice anything strange about the heat signatures?" Val asked

"One of them were particularly cold, almost as if..."

"As if the liquid that ran through his veins was incapable of producing heat, not blood but instead pure water. Our culprit water mutant," Alex chimed in as he stared intently at one of the marks Noah drew on the square representing the fourth floor.

"Alright you have a clear picture of their structure, their defenses, and the location of their most dangerous weapon. Alex, come up with a strategy to incapacitate the settlement and it's residents without killing anyone," the flame king said as he looked towards one of his apprentices.

Alex fell silent as he observed the location of the residents and the armed guards. His eyes went from a warm orange to a thick red, his brother and Val noticed this change always occurred whenever he went deep in thought. The mutant's flame seemed to brighten for a fraction of a second before he returned, confident in what he managed to come up with.

Val and Alexander charged directly towards the parking lot, not trying in the slightest to mask their presence. Almost immediately, bullets began hailing towards them. Before they could make contact, Val took a deep breath and then let out a wave of roaring flames, reducing the bullets to steaming liquid steel. The burning steel completely unaffected the two fire mutants as they simply absorbed the heat. Before the fire could fade, Val propelled himself forward with a burst a fire from both his hand and feet. He landed in a crouched position on the the edge of the 2nd floor and couldn't help but smirk as he startled a guard enough for him to trip and fall on his arse. Alex charged into the first floor and smashed his fist into the nearest guard. Before any of them could retaliate, Alex ripped the gun from the dazed guard and sprayed gunfire everywhere except directly towards the armed scavengers, causing them to sprint for cover.

"Val, you and I will take the first, second and third floor."

Seeing their opportunity, Val and Alexander both took a deep breath however instead of the familiar crackling and bursts of fire in their chest, they felt a thick gas building in their throats.

"We'll create smokescreens on each floor, rendering them blind. The guards won't fire their weapons and risk killing one of their own."

The two let out all of the gas building in their lungs, creating a thick wall of smoke making it impossible to see even your own hands in front of you. Both Val and Alexander activated their heat sense and began knocking guards unconscious. Once Val was finished he repeated the process on the third floor, which was far easier as those residing on the third floor were either asleep or resting from a day's work and were just now beginning to rouse. Before Alex could join his mentor, the sound of his comrades cries of pain became too much for a scavenger as he began spraying bullets all around him, endangering all of the unconscious guards currently lying on the floor.

"Stay the fuck away from me!" The man cried as he fired blindly into the thick smoke.

"Damn it," Alex muttered as he quickly sprinted towards the panicked guard. Once he was close enough, the fire mutant smacked the guard's gun upward causing it to spit bullets harmlessly into the concrete ceiling. Alex then smashed his elbow into the man's nose, the distance between the two allowed Val's apprentice to hear a sickening crack. The man staggered back as blood spluttered from his nostrils. Before he could recover, Alex slammed the guard's head into a nearby wall. Rendering him unconscious.

Noah watched his mentor and his brother charge towards the parking lot, then made his way towards one of the patrolling guards. He began chanting cryptic words as he approached the armed scavenger, "Shoudero Maitisheir Makka Ke Tontan Makenda." He eventually got too close and the guard heard him but at that point, it was too late. Noah punched the man's abdomen with as much force as he could muster, knocking the air out the guard's lungs and causing him to collapse. The guard began glowing a cool blue hue, this was flame shield, a technique developed by Val himself. The user's flames forms a thin barrier around the victim, burning up all of the oxygen around the person's body which completely prevented fire from enveloping their body. The barrier was much thinner around the mouth so the person could breath however inhaling oxygen becomes a much more difficult task then without flame shield. This was necessary so the guard wouldn't be reduced to a pile of char at the fire mutant's touch.

Noah wrapped his arm tightly around the man's neck as he began dragging him into an abandoned building. "Quit your flailing, damn it!" Noah snarled as his temper began to take control. He had half a mind to snap the bastard's neck right then and there. These men had robbed his people of food and supplies then left them to starve. They didn't deserve mercy. 'Calm down,' Noah chanted in his mind. 'I have to keep playing along for now if I want even a chance at taking the throne.' The fire mutant's pressure on the man's throat along with the already low amount of oxygen around the guard became too much and he succumbed to unconsciousness. Noah then tore off a segment of the man's shirt before making his towards a patch of flowers giving off a dull red glow. These plants had began spawning soon after the conclusion of the Third World War, a mutation stemmed from a previously existing plant.

"Noah, do you see that patch of Death shards?"

"Yes, what about them?"

"If we're serious about allying with this settlement, beating unarmed members of the settlement into unconsciousness will make our chances that much slimmer and we don't have the materials to properly restrain and silence them. You can use the Death Shards to knock out each person outside of the settlement as quickly and painlessly as possible."

"Aren't Death Shards used for a painless suicide?"

Noah harvested the entire patch before sneaking into a nearby building, waiting for his signal to begin. Both the first and second floor erupting into smoke was more than enough to distract the workers outside the parking lot. Once he saw that, Val's apprentice took a couple of the glowing flowers and placed them on the piece of cloth he tore from the guards shirt. He then blew a few embers into the Death Shards causing them to immediately ignite into flames. Once the flowers were completely burned, Noah snuffed out the flame and began approaching a group of workers. He shoved the fresh ashes over a woman's mouth and nose, causing her to thrash for a bit but soon her movements began to get sluggish.

"When consumed, yes it is a guaranteed kill but if it is only inhaled then the person will simply lose consciousness. Just make sure to remove the flower from the nose and mouth as soon as their eyes begin to lose focus."

The sound of the woman's struggle alerted her fellow workers. Most attempted to put up a fight however Noah's combat training proved to be more than enough to evade and mark each scavenger with flame shield. The fire mutant then began knocking each of them out one by one, simultaneously restraining one at a time and dodging the attacks of the rest. Noah repeated the process with the rest of settlement's workers. Once the ash's fumes began to fade, they would promptly be replaced by a fresh set of Death Shards. When all outside members were incapacitated, Noah began dragging them onto the third floor.

Alexander watched his brother drag the unconscious scavengers onto the third floor, smirking a bit when Noah gave him a small glare for giving him such a redundant task.

Turning towards his mentor, Alex said, "Val, we have about ten minutes before the rest of the members of this settlement begin waking up. We better finish this up quick." Val nodded as he and his brother got in position.

"Noah, you will station yourself on that building to provide backup in case things get out of hand and we have no choice but to kill."

Noah grabbed his massive case and jumped off the third floor, the concrete below cracking underneath his sheer weight. He then began sprinting towards the tallest building nearby. Once inside, he leaped from wall to wall to rise to the top of the building as the stairs had long since collapsed. One wall was particularly fragile and Noah crashed through it the moment he made contact. His instincts kicking in, the fire mutant immediately turned and smashed his armored hand onto the building's bricks, allowing him to grip the building and scale it to the top. Once there, Noah cracked opened his glossy case, holding his M24. He fixed his bipod on the building's ledge, snapped on his scope, and finally he let out a thin stream of smoke. Letting his companions know he was ready for the attack to begin.

"Val, you'll position yourself at the center of the third floor."

The flame king stood in silence, sensing the heat signatures of the remaining guards directly above him.

"At this point, the guards on the fourth floor will undoubtably be alerted of our presence and prepare for an attack. They'll look for even the slightest sight of danger, looking around the lot and closely guarding the entrance to the fourth floor. So we'll attack them from where they least expect it..."

An armed scavenger watched the sloped entrance closely, sweat trailing down his face. Whether it was from constant exposure to the day's sun or from fear that today might be his last, the man wasn't sure.

Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he noticed a black spot on the concrete floor. Brushing it off as nothing, the guard drew his short sword and pointed towards the same direction his glock pointed. It was only until the black splotch began to grow in size at an exponential rate that the guard gave it his full attention.

"From above..."

Alex used his flames to twist in midair, using his momentum to slam his armored boot onto an oblivious guard's head. He was out cold before he even registered the pain.

Val's hand bursted from the floor and latched onto one of the scavenger's legs.

"And directly below."

The guards watched in horror as their ally was dragged into the floor below. Alex drew one of his blades and charged towards the scavengers. The guards met him half way, some unsheathing their melee weapons and preparing to kill the fire mutant while the others opened fire. Val jumped through the hole he made with his last victim and quickly joined the fray. The fire king and his apprentice activated their heat sense, using their shields to protect themselves from incoming bullets while fighting the rest.

Alexander's brother watched the battle intently, wincing a bit as he saw his mentor's shoulder pierced by guard's blade. "I'm not about to sit back and do fuck all," Noah grunted as looked into the scope of his rifle. Training his sight on a guard's hand, he fired a bullet which tore through the man's flesh and bone. Forcing the scavenger to drop his sword.

"Sniper, 9 o'clock facing north!" One of the guards shouted before they formed a protective wall composed of their shields.

"What the hell is he doing!? We didn't give the signal to start firing!" Val shouted as he slammed the pommel of his blade onto the one of temples of his enemy.

The attack from two fronts proved effective as the guards' numbers slowly started to dwindle, however one misplaced bullet could result in a crippling or fatal injury. A risk Val wished to avoid.

Noah gave a cruel smile as he saw an opening in the wall of shields reveal the naked head of one of the scavengers. "I'm sure Val and Alex will forgive me for this 'misfire'," Noah whispered as he fixed his aim onto the exposed guard. The fire mutant gave a small wave when the man looked straight at him. "What are the odds? A stray bullet piercing the skull of a poor unsuspecting guard, right through his fucking eye."

Noah pulled the trigger, and a deafening BANG rang throughout the area as the bullet broke the sound barrier and flew towards the scavenger. Molecules of water suddenly bonded together to form a long column of water, floating in the air. As soon as the bullet made contact with the liquid, it's speed was greatly hindered until the bullet finally made it's way through the column and harmlessly tapped the exposed guard.

Noah quickly scanned the fourth floor and spotted one of the guards with their arms raised, the water mimicking the guard's every move. The leader had been hiding their ability for the entirety of the battle, probably waiting for the right moment to extinguish the two fire mutants however his element of surprise had now been ruined.

"So you finally reveal yourself," Noah spoke as he began firing towards the water mutant. The sniper's eyes widened as the leader of the settlement caught each bullet inside a droplet of water. With the bullets now under their control, the water mutant launched them right back. The bullets passed right through Noah's body, however the water that laced the bullets caused him to collapse upon impact. The fire mutant felt extremely weak as he lurched forward and vomited a mix of magma and molten stones. This reaction happened whenever a fire mutant came in contact with water, their body immediately tried to rid itself of any form of liquid by throwing up. Noah was particularly weak against water because,unlike his brother, his flames weren't protected by a membrane of obsidian around his body. The fire mutant's only form of protection was his armor.

"Noah!" Val and Alexander shouted before turning towards the leader of the settlement.

Only a few guards remained at this point but now that the water mutant was bringing his abilities into the fight, the chances of the group of fire mutants walking away victorious hadn't increased in the slightest. Alexander dropped his buckler in favor of a wider shield and an iron chain while Val focused his flames into his chest causing it glow a sickly yellow. The flame king's apprentice suddenly charged towards the remaining guards, carrying the iron chain on his left hand and the larger shield on his right. The water mutant summoned tendrils of water directly towards Alex however the fire mutant didn't falter in his line of attack in the slightest, continuing to sprint towards the armed scavengers. Val summoned a stream fire that clashed with the torrents of water, their fight for dominance caused a thick screen of steam to engulf the fourth floor. After a few minutes of the two elements' struggle, a high-pitched whistle was heard. Val suddenly increased his flames by a ten-fold, allowing the fire to completely overtake the opposing mutant's water and envelop the majority of the fourth floor.

"Nooo!" The water mutant cried as he watched smoke made of what he could only assume to be the remains of his comrades rise into the sky. Tears welled up at the corner of the leader's eyes as he glared into the cyclone of smoke and ash where he could see the silhouettes of the two fire mutants. Their eyes giving off a menacing blood-red glow.

The real battle had only just begun.

And that's the second chapter completed. So what do think of this chapter? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Let me know. If there's something you didn't like, please let me know what it was and how I should fix it. This also my first time writing a fight scene so let me know how I did. Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful day and I'll see you next time when chapter 3 is posted which, if everything goes according to plan, should be next week. Peace out!


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